Multiple U.S. service members were injured during an ambush-style attack on an American convoy operating in central Syria, U.S. officials confirmed Saturday, marking another deadly flashpoint in the ongoing fight against ISIS.
A senior U.S. official told Fox News that several American troops were wounded in the attack, with some injuries described as serious.
The convoy came under fire near the ancient city of Palmyra while conducting counterterrorism operations alongside Syrian partner forces.
Initial reports from Reuters, citing local Syrian officials, said the convoy was targeted during a mission aimed at disrupting ISIS cells operating in the region.
The Department of War initially acknowledged the reports but declined to provide further details as information continued to develop.
The Pentagon later confirmed the attack turned deadly.
Two U.S. soldiers and one civilian interpreter were killed during the operation, according to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell. The troops were reportedly engaged in a key leader engagement targeting ISIS militants at the time of the ambush.
“The attack occurred as the soldiers were conducting a key leader engagement in support of ongoing counter-ISIS and counterterrorism operations,” Parnell said.
The identities of the fallen soldiers and details about their units are being withheld for 24 hours while families are notified.
Syrian state media reported that at least one gunman was killed when U.S. and partner forces returned fire. Two Syrian security personnel were also injured in the exchange, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
An unnamed U.S. official initially told Reuters that as many as four American service members were injured. The wounded troops were evacuated by helicopter to a nearby airbase for medical treatment.
The ambush underscores the continued danger facing U.S. forces operating in Syria, even as ISIS no longer controls large swaths of territory. American troops have remained in the country to prevent an ISIS resurgence and support Syria’s fragile post-Assad government.
As of June, roughly 1,500 U.S. service members were deployed in Syria following Pentagon-ordered consolidations. That number was expected to decline later this year, though U.S. forces continue to operate from key locations, including the Al-Tanf air base near the Jordanian border.
Those bases were originally established during ISIS’s territorial peak in 2015 and have remained operational to target insurgent cells scattered across the Syrian desert, per Trending Politics.
President Donald Trump has previously signaled interest in fully withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria. However, the administration has continued to support stabilization efforts amid concerns that a full pullout could plunge the country into renewed civil war.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the issue earlier this year, emphasizing the risks of abandoning Syria entirely.
“We need to help that government succeed because the alternative is full-scale civil war and chaos,” Rubio told lawmakers. “That would destabilize the entire region.”
U.S. forces have been targeted in Syria before. In January 2019, an ISIS suicide bomber killed four Americans in Manbij during a routine patrol, marking the deadliest attack on U.S. troops in the country.
Saturday’s ambush is the latest reminder that, despite years of operations, ISIS remains capable of launching lethal attacks against American forces in the region.
